Nasdaq Ventures
Nasdaq Ventures is a global venture investing program focused on cultivating talent and technology advancement within financial services–spurring innovation that aligns with and accelerates our vision to reimagine the markets of tomorrow.
We Invest in Startups Across Seven Key Themes
Market Infrastructure
Support the modernization of market infrastructure across asset classes & geographies
Data, Analytics, & Workflow Technologies
Empower clients with useful insights and efficient workflows
Anti-Financial Crime
Enhance the integrity of the global financial system
Blockchain & Digital Assets
Foster institutional adoption of blockchain and digital assets
Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)
Support corporates and investors in their ESG and decarbonization goals
New Marketplaces
Increase efficiency of non-financial asset classes by improving price discovery and lowering transaction costs
Enabling Technologies
Emerging technologies such as AI and quantum computing with fintech use cases
Investment Criteria
Strategic Nexus with Nasdaq
Strategically aligned with one or more of Nasdaq's business units either directly (i.e. a revenue or distribution synergy, joint product development) or indirectly (thematically relevant)
Large Market Opportunity
Operates in a large and growing market with well-defined customer segments and strong secular tailwinds
Experienced Team
Strong management team with complementary skills, aligned incentives, relevant industry experience, and diverse backgrounds; ideally founders with operating experience
Commercial Traction
Well-defined go-to-market strategy and market validation from early clients
Investment Size
Nasdaq Ventures will typically lead or co-lead seed, Series A, or Series B financings
We Help Our Founders Scale Their Startups
"Nasdaq was our dream partner - we are aligned on mission and values and are both committed to promoting best practice in governance for companies."
— Zoe Bucknell, CEO and Co-Founder, Kuberno, Kuberno simplifies legal entity management by easing reporting and enabling remote collaboration through its cloud-native product, Kube.
“The PureStream ATS will offer brokers and their institutional clients greater bandwidth to get more liquidity faster, more cost-effectively and with greater security. We are grateful for the support of major institutional participants.”
— Armando Diaz, CEO and Founder of Purestream, Purestream separates the price and liquidity discovery process with rate-based order types that improve execution quality and reduce market impact.
"With an unrivaled data portfolio, client base, and market sector expertise, we could not have found a better partner than Nasdaq for our company and clients.”
— Wissem Souissi, CEO and Founder of Dasseti, Dasseti allows allocators to transform and streamline their decision-making process, digitizing, centralizing and optimizing the due diligence and data collection processes.
Explore Our Partner Companies
Active
Exits
Meet the Nasdaq Ventures Team
Gary Offner
Former Managing Director (Principal Strategic Investments) at Morgan Stanley. Key Investments: Philadelphia Stock Exchange, BATS Global Markets, National Stock Exchange of India, TheMarkets.com, Chi-X Global, Symphony Communications, BIDS Trading, Visible Alpha. Received M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.
Read MoreBenjamin Blueweiss
Ben Blueweiss joined Nasdaq Ventures in 2019 and is a Vice President on the investment team. Prior to Nasdaq, Ben spent eight years at Bloomberg LP leading M&A, strategic investments, and new business development. He started his career as an investment banking analyst at Credit Suisse and also served as an Associate of Corporate Development at IBM. Ben completed his undergraduate studies at Cornell University with a B.S. from the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management.
Read MoreYordanka Ilieva
Yordanka Ilieva joined Nasdaq Ventures in 2017 and is a Principal on the investment team. Prior to Nasdaq Ventures, Yordanka was a former Director of Finance and Operations at Selerity, Former Business Development Associate at Moody’s Analytics Knowledge Services, and Former TMT investment banking Analyst at Lazard. Yordanka received her M.B.A. from Columbia Business School (Dean's Honors with Distinction).
Read MoreRandall Zuccalmaglio
Randall is a Director at Nasdaq Ventures. Portfolio coverage includes Puro.earth, Dasseti, Kuberno, Matter, and Sporttrade. Prior to Nasdaq, he studied business and political economy at NYU Stern.
Read MoreSusan Xiao
Susan Xiao is a Senior Analyst at Nasdaq Ventures. Prior to joining Nasdaq, she was an investment banking analyst at DC Advisory. Susan graduated from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with a B.S. in Economics and was the co-captain of the Penn Women’s Golf Team.
Read MoreAmaan Khan
Amaan Khan is an Analyst at Nasdaq Ventures. He graduated from Western University in June 2025 with a Bachelor of Engineering Science in Mechanical Engineering. Amaan interned with the Nasdaq Ventures team during Summer 2024 before joining the team full-time as a new graduate in June 2025. Prior to Nasdaq, Amaan interned at Optimity and dotCMS.
Alyse Horn
Alyse Horn is the Senior Administrative Assistant for Nasdaq Ventures, joining the team in 2017. Prior to that, Alyse served as Public Programs Manager and Board Liaison at the Metropolitan Opera Guild. She received her B.A. from the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University.
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